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A COURVOISIER PONIOON FOR RAISING SHIPS. AFJFLLICATIONFILED APR.25, 1918. 1,308,168.

Patented July 1, 1919.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1. N f '&

N/ R E0 0. W 0 rlr A WM C A. COURVOISIER.

PONTOON FOR RAISING SHIPS.

APPLICATION FILED APR-25.1918.

PatentedJuIy 1, 1919.

4 SHEETS-SHEEI 2 my a Z cpoooooc oooooocp THE COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPII co., WASHINGTON, n. C.

A. COURVQISIEIYI PONTOON FOR RAISING SHIPS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 25. I918 Patented July 1, 1919.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3'.

IIIIIIIIM I III I/EN TOR 14/7076/4/ warm/yer ATT RNEIS A. COURVOISIER.

PONTOON FOR RAISING SHIPS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 25. 1918.

Patented July 1, 1919.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

IN l/EIV TOR Tm: COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH cu., wAsHmuTON. n. c.

1:. an ;FFICE.

ANDREW oounvolslnn, orHUeUnnea -rnme new YORK:

PONTOON FOR nAIsINd smrs.

Application filed April 25,

To all whom it may concern: l

Be it known that I, ANDREW- Cormvoisrnn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Huguenot Park, county of Richmond, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pontoons for Raising Ships, of WlllClliiliQ following ls This invention relates to *ilnprovenientsjn salmging sunken ships, and has as its special object, the provisiolrot a]plnrallty;oftanks which are independently floatable, so that they may be sunk 01Q1l1S6(iltO rise to the surface, together with a connecting harness of novel construction, whereby a sunken ship may be raised. p A further object is toprovide means for expelling thewater contained Within the tanks and replacing the same with alight and buoyant gas. a f

These and other like objects-are attained by the novel construction and combination of parts hereinafter described and shown in the accompanying terial. part of which 1 l Figure 1 is a side elevational View, show ing a conventional type ofship ina subnierged conditionand indicating the 3131511- cation. oftheinvention.

Fig. Qis a similar View of the-same, show ing the ship supported by thetanks,

Fig. 3 is'a plan View showing a parnof tanks and the interlacing elements engaged therebetween. l

Fig. 4 is a plan View showing a sunken ship, together with a pair of tenders used ,1n connection with the tanks, by wl'lichth e ship is raised. t l

Fi 5 is a partial side elevational and pan tial' vertical sectional View taken through doubleforin of a tank. a

Fig. 6 is a Vertical sectional iew taken throughthe center of a single type oftank,

Fig. 7 isatransverse sectionaljviewfltaken* on line 7- 7 of Fig. 5, and

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary sectiohal View, showing the Water valves in) a raised position.

drawings, forming a inathis specification, I and 111 i Specification OfLettersIPatent.

afllor da"powerfnl*littingelfect. y I, The single type,indicated in Fig; 6, is

This process of raising snnkenship's"m Patenteenul 1, 19.19. 1913.; SerialjlNoi230,650.,

the hullthereof from between each pair, and

to the surface. v a

The position of the sunken ship, indicated floating; thetal iks,thereby raising the ship lay the numeral 10, haying been ascertained and defined by buoys 11 and .12", Irespectivel yat the bow and stern, the steaniboats 13 l and .15 a used as tenders in nianenvering the tanks, are arranged alongside and above the snnlizen hull fiin the manner indicated in.

Fig. 4L; These tenders are held in operative position by anchors 16, disposedin the ordinary manner. a

As the sunken ship rests upon the bottom, more orless uneven and covered with silt and naud, preferably the stern end 01 the hull isfi1 'straised by passing: cables below the propeller shaft housing and floating the tanks 20, thereby raising the hull snfliciently to pern litthe next pair oftanks 20 to have cables eXtendedbetWeen them, and so on until all of the pairs of tanks hayelbeen connected by cables extending below the keel of the sunken ship.

The construction of thetank elements is 3 shown in-detail in Figs. 5, 6 and 7, the sa ne consisting of a cylindrical shell 25,.having rigid convex "ends 26, the sheljlbeingof such characterfias to Withstand adeep seafpres sure, "and of suiticient area, "when floated, to

ordinarily about twentyfeet in diameter;

and forty feetlong, While tl1ed0ubletype showniirFig. 5, is of a length equivalent to three OrxniOretiines itsdiameter. The shells are reinforced by carrying rods 28, arranged in pairs, While inthe double type,a transverse air tight partition 29, forms the in terior into two like but opposed coinpart merits; .1 a i t y l i l-krran'ged in one of the ends of the tanks, or in both ends, if the double constrnctiol l be used, is a, hollow elbow-like element 30, hay; inga cylindrical flanged hollow extension 31 ,"secnred to the 6611021376 end ofthe tank, by the". flange 33,-.provided with an opening filled normally by the plug The Verticat flanged BXtellSlOllBQ is "covered by a snag-e35, containing an opening filled: by the pl'n 3 flangege, a pipe 38 engaged with a flexible hose 39,-adapted to extend upward through 6, While extending through the} 1 y to expel the water normally contained within, when it is desired tofloat the tank.

The water passesfrom the tank through the opening in the valve seat 45, rigidly secured upon'th'e inner wall of the tank, at the bottom, while the conical valve 46, is engaged with a cross bar 47, upon which are secured blocks 48, slidably engaged upon pairsofthe paralleldisposed carrying rods 28, movement of the bar 47 being effected by the floats 50, engaged upon opposite ends of' the bar 47 Immediately above the valve 46, in a sleeve 52, receptive of the lower end of arod 53, the rod being screw-threaded at its upper T end'j54,*and. engaged in a. screw-threaded opening formed in the upper surface of the tankshell,,theoutwardly extending end 55 bemgfitted to receive awrench. Normally the rod 53 is. screwed home for holding the valve to its seat; however immediately prior to'the submersion of the tank, the rod is unscrewed for allowing the valve to open durmg the submersion 1n order to gradually overcome the buoyancy of the floats by the weightof the inrushing'water, until the same is expelled again under. the infiuence of the developing gas. 7

In order to avoid danger of bursting the tank by an over charge of gas supplied by "the calcium carbid, a safety valve is provided within the tank, the same consisting of a rigid cup 58,. on the'bottom of which is formed 'a seatcooperating' with the valve 59, having a stem 6 0 guided in an appropriate housing, and pressed bythe coiled compression spring 62,the action of the spring being suflicient to'maintain a safe but adequate gas pressure within the tank, and in order. to carry awayan excess of gas when the safetyfyalv'e'operates,a hose 63 is secured to the upper extending portion of the valve,

the hose leading. away from the vicinity of the operation- I Secured at spaced. intervals to the tanks are, a plurality of brackets 65 in which are mounted rollers 66. v The several tanks are i "so normally secured to the tenders by cables attached to eyes 71 in theends of the tank. vllhe tanks are further provided with hook eyesl74, which engage cables,connected with the; tenders, and upon the'opposite sidesof thetank's are other eyes 7 7 containing cable links 7,8, which maybe connected with the hooks 80, between which are the interwoven ends of the cable 81, secured in eyes 852,

fixed upon the side of the opposite pontoon.

In operation, one of each pair of the tanks is submerged, and a relatively small rope passed under the propeller housing, as bein most convenient and which in turn draws a cable, eventually, down over the pulleys, and connected with the hooks, the cable being passed for ard and back a number of times. below the housing, and so engaged with opposite hooks as to form a netting supporting that part of the ship.

The oppositely disposed tank of the pair is then submerged, and the cables tightened to any desired extent, whereupon water is permitted to enter the chamber 30, through the pipe 38 in suflieient quantity to produce an amount of gas which will enter into the tank, expelling the water and giving a buoyant effect, suliieient to raise that part of the ship.

Similarly the next pair of tanks is positioned and their cables passed below the keel of the vessel, at that time partially raised, and so on until all of the several tanks have been engaged with the hull, whereupon a larger quantity of water is permitted to enter the carbid chambers forming suilieient gas to raise the vessel into the position shown in Fig. 2.

Obviously the entrance of water to the earbid is under the control of operatives working on the tenders and the use for divers is only necessary in the original placing and installation of the cables below the hull, while the buoyant elfect of the gas is amply suflicient to raise any weight to which the pontoons are attached, provided the latter be of adequate capacity.

.In the construction of the tanks stay rods maybe used to reinforce the construction,

7 the same being applied in any desired man- .ner and number.

In addition to the gas, or rather to take the place of gas, the pipe 38, or an equivalent of the same, may be used in conveying compressed air from the tenders to the tanks, so that should the supply of chemicals ordinarily used be deficient, the tanks may be rendered buoyant by the compressed air, it being understood that a pressure of substantially fifteen pounds per square inch, over the pressure of the water, at the depth to which the tanks are submerged, is required.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

A device of the character described comprising aplurality of tanks, an elbow element in each of the tanks adapted to form a chamber-for the reception of calcium ca rbid, a'pipe connecting said elbow element with the body of the tank, a pipe within said elbow element adapted to be coupled to a flexible hose in permanent communication With the atmosphere, a check valve in said first named pipe, preventing the inlet of Water but permitting the escape of gas from said element or chamber into the tanks, a valve at the bottom of each tank permitting the expulsion of the Water normally contained in the tanks under the pressure of the gas iassin the check valve a safet 'as valve on top of each tank, a plurality of brackets 10 eyes of the neighboring tanks.

In testnnony whereof I have affixed my 15 signature.

ANDREW COURVOISIER.

'Eopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents, Washington, .D. G. 

